Voice of the People, Oct. 22

October 22, 2012

School liabilities. (Mark Weber)

School liabilities

I fully agreed with letter writer Doug Iverson's "Selfish strikers" (Voice of the People, Oct. 15), in which he stated how selfish it is of teachers to strike for higher wages and benefits, thus depriving the "children of an education." I was further incensed by the Chicago Teachers Union's demand to lessen the impact of student evaluations on teacher and school performance.

I even thought I'd write a letter about it. I'm glad I didn't. In a moment over coffee with a friend, whom I now consider to be smarter than I am, I changed my position 180 degrees. I flip-flopped.

She pointed out that in many Chicago public schools, teachers and support staff are making Herculean efforts to keep marginalized students in school against all odds — odds that include pressure from gangs to leave school; unparented homes and head-of-household duties to younger siblings; children of their own or a pregnancy; undiagnosed learning disabilities; language barriers; hunger, health and poverty challenges; and more.

Many of these students come to school as the walking-wounded — able to physically show up but in dire need when they arrive. They are also the students most likely to lower student standardized test scores.

So teachers, staff and ultimately the schools that are most successful in reaching these students rank at the bottom when rated by student test scores. It's a negative slope. When viewed through this prism, the teachers' strike was a selfless act, undertaken to ensure that no CPS students are deprived of an education in a misguided, if not well-intentioned, contract that formalizes the need to weed out the highest-risk students by placing them in the center of the bull's eye — in the liabilities column.

— Michelle Dolan, Park Ridge

Schools leader

As a public school teacher in the suburban Chicago area, I wish Barbara Byrd-Bennett the best of luck in her new position as CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Based on the Tribune's recent reports and Mayor Rahm Emanuel's comments, it sounds as if she has excellent credentials.

However, my question is this: If Byrd-Bennett is so outstanding, why wasn't she hired in the first place? Why did the CPS Board of Education and the mayor waste 17 months with Jean-Claude Brizard?

— Lori Szeszycki, Hickory Hills

Pension plans

I fully support Constitutional Amendment 49 on the Illinois ballot. Both my husband and I worked for Fortune 500 companies. I just recently retired and my husband is still in the workforce. Over the past few years, both of our pensions have been downgraded by our employers, and neither company now offers any pensions to new employees. The reason this change was made was that the pension plans originally offered when we were hired were not fiscally viable, so the corporations took the initiative to change them to plans that were.

Once we start our pensions, there are no cost-of-living increases. The pension we get on Day One stays the same as long as we live, and any retiree health care that we get will be paid for by us and there is no guarantee that the cost will stay the same.

My husband and I are both very lucky to have any pension at all since most people who work in the private sector will get no pension, only Social Security.

The state of Illinois has to do what any responsible corporation would do, which is to change the state pension plans, including retiree health care, to reflect the state's finances. There are many Illinois taxpayers who will never get a pension but who are paying ever-increasing taxes to cover the pensions of state employees.

Something has to be done to save the state from the fiscal disaster it is currently heading toward, and voting yes on this amendment is a good first step.

— Barbara Levie, Buffalo Grove

Pension benefits

Please vote no on the proposed Illinois Constitutional Amendment 49, and ask your family and friends to do the same. If approved, this amendment would give the Legislature the right to roll back and/or reduce pension benefits of public employees, including health insurance and cost-of-living adjustments for those of us who have already retired.

I am retired after 32 years in community college service, including service as president of Harry S Truman College.

Our pensions have suffered already at the hands of legislators who voted not only to not make the annually scheduled state contributions but borrowed from the dollars we, as employees, contributed. Had Illinois made those payments and/or kept their hands off of our contributions, the pension system would not be suffering.

Please do not skip or ignore this item on your ballot because doing so counts against us as well. Please vote no on this sweeping amendment that allows legislators to set aside contractual obligations to its employees at any point in time for any reason it so chooses.